CHENNAI: Expressing deep grief over the deaths by suicide of NEET aspirant Jegadeeswaran and his father P Selvasekar, Chief Minister MK Stalin appealed to the student community not to take the extreme step and hoped that the two deaths would be the last.
The CM in a statement released on Monday said that he was shocked to know about the death by suicide of Jegadeeswaran. "Adding more to the shock, Selvasekar, father of Jegadeeswaran also committed suicide. Words fail me on how to console this family and their kith and kin," Stalin said.
He said that the parents of Jegadeeswaran would have been confident that their son would become a doctor but instead "he has joined the list of those who ended their lives at the NEET Altar and it is a horrifying development."
Appealing to the student community not to resort to the extreme step, the chief minister said, "The NEET which stands as a stumbling block to your progress can definitely be removed. The Tamil Nadu government has been engaged in legal steps for that."
Stalin also criticised Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi for his recent remarks on NEET. "When the political change we strive for takes place in a few months, the NEET wall will collapse and those who said they would not give assent to the anti-NEET Bill will vanish," MK Stalin promised.
He mentioned that the Governor had forwarded the NEET Bill to the President only after the state assembly had adopted it for the second time. He claimed that the intention of the Governor was to keep the Bill on the back burner.
Chief Minister Stalin also said that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (medical entrance exam) can be cleared only by those who can afford to pay lakhs of rupees to private coaching centres. "Those who cannot afford to pay huge amounts are unable to clear this examination while those who afford to spend huge sums for their children for two to three years are clearing this examination. Also, those who clear the NEET with lesser marks can join medical colleges by paying money. In a nutshell, it is clear that only the rich alone can have medical education," he added.
Stalin stated that students hailing from poor economic backgrounds can enter medical colleges only through the 7.5% reservation quota. "The Governor either fails to understand this fact or he refuses to understand. His remarks have raised suspicion as to whether the Governor is acting as a puppet in the hands of coaching centres," the chief minister said.
RN Ravi had recently asserted that he would never clear the Tamil Nadu government's anti-NEET bill, even as it awaits Presidential assent. He made the statements during an interaction with top NEET scorers from UG-2023 and their parents at the Raj Bhavan.
"Look, I will be the last man to give clearance; never, ever... NEET is going to stay in the country. I want my children to be competitive, to be the best in the country," the Governor had said when a parent sought his clearance to ban NEET.
"Whatever is there in the CBSE book, nothing beyond is needed. Many students, I have seen cleared it, cleared it well without going to coaching institutions. The book they have prescribed-- the CBSE book, that is a standard," RN Ravi had said.
Recalling that the Governor had refused to give his assent for the Bill to ban online gambling but had met those engaged in online gambling, Stalin said, "Now, the Governor is teaching lessons to the students in the Raj Bhavan like a coaching centre."
The CM also recalled how the father of a Salem-based student had posed questions about NEET to the Governor. "But the Governor cannot answer him directly but said he would not give his assent to the Bill. This shows his ignorance since the Bill is now before the President and he has no say over the Bill anymore. The hearts of those like the Governor will never feel for the lives lost due to NEET since they have no value for human lives," Stalin added.
(With inputs from PTI)